A boring graduation speech is a tragedy. If asked to give a speech, you can add a little humor to it. Learn to choose appropriate jokes to make guests laugh. Also, learn how to master your tone of voice and practice how to deliver your speech so that your humor hits the listener's heart more.
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Method 1 of 3: Choosing Appropriate Jokes
Step 1. Use funny aphorisms to start
Starting a speech by delivering inspirational aphorisms is a common (and boring) part of a graduation speech. If you want to add a little humor to your speech, inserting funny aphorisms can be a great way to lighten the mood. Here are some classic humor to work with:
- Will Rogers: "Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there."
- Ben Franklin: "You will find the key to success under the alarm clock."
- Bill Watterson: "What's it like to live in the real world? The food is better, but other than that I don't recommend you live there."
- Ray Magliozzi: "You will never have more energy or enthusiasm and more hair or brain cells than today."
Step 2. Prepare funny references, but take them seriously
One of the best ways to incorporate humor into a speech is to insert a silly-looking reference for a graduation ceremony. Pop culture such as songs, cartoons, and action movies can be great choices for making funny speeches, as long as you take it seriously and build on it.
- Choose aphorisms from your favorite rap song: "As Saykoji said, 'Nation, prey to market and share, cut justice like a goose duck, lean to the left and turn to the right, threaten and give pressure'. I won't go into further detail about the goose duck, but I want to emphasize that we must always have the courage to defend justice, at any cost, as our school has taught us so far."
- Include references from the “bottom” culture: “When we see the hallways of the school, we are like Mario trapped in the sewers of life. Get lost, then find a way. Get stars. Thinking that we are shining and invincible. Eating strange mushrooms. Smash the turtle with the hammer. Fight with dragon kidnapping royal princess in the middle of nowhere. Yes, we did do some of the above.”
Step 3. Tell a specific story about your school
Think of a funny story related to school, a story related to someone who was at a graduation ceremony. This is a great way to incorporate humor into your speech, as long as the story is still worth telling in front of an audience.
- If you're giving a speech because of your achievements or position in school, this is a great time to badmouth yourself. Tell me about a time when you failed at something.
- Try to think of something that everyone can recognize. If your school does construction throughout the year, make a joke about “building the future little by little is like building a new school building.”
- Don't tell "insider" jokes unless you want to provide an explanation. If there's something funny about your friends on the swim team that no one else knows about, you shouldn't include it in your graduation speech. Remember who was the guest at the event.
Step 4. Make fun of the “traditional” graduation speeches at your school
Even if it's hard to do, kicking off the clichés of a graduation speech can be a powerful way to grab an audience's attention. Think of something really cliché that you could make a joke of, and then use that to say the opposite.
- Attack the cliché about “hard work”: “Most people say that success comes from hard work and the best way to achieve success is to keep hands out of pocket. However, this is not entirely true. Some people are blessed with luck, and this is what I want to talk about today…”
- Ridicule the cliché of “I see the creators of tomorrow”: “I look at all of you guys who graduated today, and you know what I saw? Future debt. I saw students who would hurt their thumbs while playing Xbox Life. Children who will guard the emergency room on Halloween celebrations, or when the situation at a party is getting out of hand. Those who will give the excuse that their grandmother died before the exam, as well as those who will succeed in controlling her life."
Step 5. Start with a silly joke, then explain its meaning
There are many speeches, good or bad, inserting a swagger, story, or proverb into speech as a metaphor. David Foster Wallace's "This is Water" speech is the best example of this style of speech. He started off with a simple joke about two fish swimming in the ocean, then spoke of various cliches in his graduation speech and explained that it was like an older fish teaching the easier fish what water is.
- Pick a common joke that you like, then tell it. Knock-knock jokes, chickens crossing the street, talking dogs, or any kind of joke that's known in general can all work if you're good at telling them.
- "My father used to love telling jokes. The joke went like this: a man and a bone came into the bar. The man ordered two beers and a mop. I think there are two kinds of people in this world, namely people who are mere bones or people who mops up his own vomit after he's had too much alcohol."
Method 2 of 3: Finding the Right Tone
Step 1. Think about who your audience is
As you make jokes for your graduation speech, try to think of who will be at the event. Your classmates may be the main target, but remember that they will be outnumbered by school staff, family members, and others who don't understand your jokes about the swim team.
You probably won't make everyone laugh, even if the jokes are really good. Don't get hung up on making the entire audience laugh, just keep your speech clean for the majority of the audience. Remember the reason why they came to the event
Step 2. Find out when you will be giving a speech
It is very important to know the order of events at the graduation ceremony. When will you speak? It's best not to include too much humor if you're speaking right after paying homage to a deceased classmate, or having a serious prayer session. Your jokes may come across as disrespectful.
Step 3. Keep your jokes polite and clean
Looking funny doesn't mean ignoring manners. Keep your jokes family friendly and meaningful for everyone to laugh. Do not insult school officials or mock a teacher during a speech.
You may not need to mention a specific person's name throughout the speech. Even if you think someone is going to laugh at being teased at a graduation speech, you don't know if they will feel offended. Don't insult anyone but yourself
Step 4. Connect your humor with something moving
Jokes shouldn't be told just to make you laugh. The best jokes are the ones that can be developed into something meaningful and more complex to give your speech more weight.
Sometimes, it's quite difficult to think of a joke that relates to a specific theme, and it's easier to find a specific theme of the joke you want to tell
Step 5. Watch some funny speeches for reference
While you're trying to figure out the best pitch for delivering a speech, watch some great speech videos. Also check out some of the funniest and smartest farewell speeches ever delivered. Here are some of the best speeches delivered by comedians and celebrities, as well as ordinary students:
- Stephen Colbert at the University of Virginia
- Neil Degrasse Tyson at Mount Holyoke High School
- Evan Biberdorf's high school graduation speech
- Lance Jabr's Speech at High School Musical
- Conan O'Brien's farewell speech at Harvard
Method 3 of 3: Delivering Your Funny Speech
Step 1. Start by thanking everyone while checking things out
At the beginning of your speech, you should try to read the audience's situation. You can use lighthearted jokes to try to anticipate the audience's reaction to your speech, but don't get your most complicated jokes out at the start. Take the process slowly and see if your audience is ready to laugh.
- Start normally, by thanking everyone who spoke and introduced you to the stage. Even if your speech will make people laugh, start with standard things like thanking you.
- It is very difficult to predict the mood of a particular audience. Some may seem ready to laugh, but some may frown or look bored. Start normally and find the right tone of voice for the day.
Step 2. Prepare a backup plan if necessary
What happens if you throw a joke and no one laughs? This can lead to awkward situations, especially if your speech is just a joke. Even if this is unlikely to happen if you write a good speech, have a contingency plan in place in case you suddenly change your mind.
- You can emphasize the joke with your voice. Just read the joke with an even expression instead of pausing to create a dramatic effect or waiting for the audience's laughter to end.
- Mark all your jokes with one color, or by underlining them, then leave everything else written in the same text and font style. If necessary, you can quickly spot jokes that deserve to be omitted. Just focus on the content of the speech.
Step 3. Let people laugh at the most unexpected times
This always happens. You think a joke is very funny, but no one laughs. After a while, people will laugh at something that isn't funny to you. Don't worry about this. If people laugh, that's fine. Don't think too much about it, but be prepared to stop the speech at the most unexpected moment.
Step 4. Be loyal to the “character” you play
Sometimes, you might adopt a character to be funny. You may be overly dramatic, or pretend to be serious, or just be yourself. Whatever you do, be the character you play with all your heart.
- If you're going to do a dramatic Sinatra rendition, you have to pretend to be serious to make people laugh. If you are going to give a fake academic speech, pretend to be a professor until the end of the speech.
- Don't laugh at your own jokes. Practice telling it so you don't mess up the point of the joke.
Step 5. Don't rush
If your speech is funny, give people a chance to process the witty humor. Setting the tempo is important for any kind of speech. Don't be in a hurry to deliver it and stop at the right time.
- Lower the speed when reading the text of the speech or pause between sentences. Stop at each sentence that is delivered.
- If people are laughing, stop talking for a moment. Don't speak in a boisterous audience.
Step 6. Articulate your words well
Jokes whose words are not clear won't get a laugh. Practice reading your speech slowly while articulating each word well. If you choke up and mess up the words of a joke, or have to repeat a joke, you're missing the point of the joke.
Practice your speech several times. Memorize the gist of the speech without memorizing the whole part. Delivering at the wrong time can kill your joke
Step 7. Don't “just” be funny
Jokes are good to tell, but it's very important to hide the meaning behind them. You can come off as the funniest comedian in school, but say something meaningful at the end. Thank everyone sincerely for the opportunity to give a speech and for listening to the end, even if most of your speech is full of sarcasm and silliness.
End the speech on a positive note. People want to hear something heartwarming graduation speech
Tips
- Think of a funny story that happened at school, then add that story to your speech.
- Look for jokes that relate to you, your classmates, and people at school.
- Make jokes with your friends.
- Try to make original jokes.
